


Renovamen et Regium

by nerdyminded



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Cabeswater - Freeform, F/M, M/M, Post-Series, bluesy - Freeform, bluesy cuteness too, cabeswater returns, kinda????, noah returns?, post-trk, pynch - Freeform, pynch cuteness, renovamen, the summer after the gangsey's freshman year of college
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 18:19:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11236563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdyminded/pseuds/nerdyminded
Summary: "Renovamen. Regeneration. Renewel. Rebirth.Somehow, Adam knew, before Ronan even regained the ability to communicate with him. Before Ronan could push himself up on his elbows, could ask Adam if he felt it, could ask Adam if he'd seen or heard anything.Cabeswater was back."One early summer morning after Adam, Blue, Gansey, and Henry's freshman year of college, Ronan and Adam awaken to find that Cabeswater has somehow regenerated. But what does it mean for them, for all of them? Will it remember its Magician, its Dreamer, its allies, or will it fall into other patterns, into the grasps of others who hunger for its power, its myth, its legend?





	1. Renovamen

Adam woke to the smell of pine and dirt, the feeling of a river rushing through his veins, the sound of improper Latin and leaves rustling in his ear. At first he thought nothing of it; this had once been, after all, an everyday experience, ever since his connection to Cabeswater.

But there was no Cabeswater. Not anymore.

With that thought, Adam bolted awake, shoving back the covers and turning to look at Ronan. Ronan, frozen, the way he often was after pulling things from his dreams. The first few times Adam had woken up to this--to Ronan, paralyzed--it had scared him out of his wits, because it was easy to forget things between consciousness and subconsciousness, easy to forget that your boyfriend, the dreamer, was not dead or dying, simply somewhere between awake and asleep.

Now, though, it wasn't Ronan's stillness that bothered him. Ronan's stillness simply meant he was about to wake up. No, what bothered him was the single gum tree leaf clutched in Ronan's palm, the faint scribble of Ronan's handwriting visible around the edge. Normally, a leaf would not bother Adam; a leaf, compared to half of the things Ronan often accidentally dragged into bed between them, was a welcome visitor. It was the leaf, and it was the scent of Cabeswater fresh in the room, and it was how when Adam unfurled Ronan's fingers to read the writing on the leaf, it read clear Latin, clear improper Latin, in a message.

_Renovamen_. Regeneration. Renewel. Rebirth.

Somehow, Adam knew, before Ronan even regained the ability to communicate with him. Before Ronan could push himself up on his elbows, could ask Adam if he felt it, could ask Adam if he'd seen or heard anything.

Cabeswater was back.

And when Ronan finally fully awoke, he didn't have to ask Adam if he knew; such was the nature of their relationship, and Adam figured the earthy smell would have given it away anyway. Ronan didn't ask Adam anything, didn't offer Adam any sort of explanation, didn't even acknowledge Cabeswater's return.

In fact, Ronan didn't say anything but one word, one name, a name both of them would have sacrificed themselves--and had sacrificed themselves, at least in part--to save: "Gansey."

_Of course_ , Adam thought. Because if Cabeswater was back, what did that mean for Gansey? Cabeswater had sacrificed itself to save Gansey; Cabeswater had fallen, and, in turn, ressurected Gansey. Could Gansey have accidentally sacrificed himself for Cabeswater, reversing the cycle? Or worse, could Ronan have accidentally dreamt another Cabeswater, and in doing so, sacrificed Gansey?

Or maybe it had been Adam. He had that feeling again, that feeling he'd had after the vision from the tree had played in his mind, over and over again. Gansey, dying, because of him. Blue, crying, because of him. And Ronan...

He didn't want to think about it, so he didn't. Adam swiped a hand over his nightstand, unplugged his cellphone, dialed Blue's number, and pressed it to his ear. The phone rang three times before Adam reached Blue's voicemail and dialed again. And again. And again. No answer. He checked the time. 3:42 A.M. Blue was probably asleep, but Gansey probably wasn't. He tried Gansey's phone. Still nothing.

Beside him, Ronan was only staring, eyes wide and hungry, worried. Adam had only seen him so worried twice, he thought; once, when Gansey had been hanging over the chasm, when Gansey had thought he'd heard hornets, when they'd all thought they were going to lose him. And again, when they actually had lost him, though neither Ronan nor Adam had been fully coherent enough to remember that night in as much detail as Henry and Blue could.

Before Adam could speak, Ronan had leapt from the bed, yanked on the black cargo pants and matching tank top he'd worn the previous day, and tossed Adam his own pants and shirt. Adam didn't have to ask to know they were heading to Monmouth, didn't have to ask if he should wake Opal. Opal, they both knew, could care for herself, especially on nights like this. Most likely she wouldn't even realize they'd left.

Once they were both dressed, Ronan started to pat his pants frantically. "Fuck," he said. For a moment, Adam just stared at him, a bit shell-shocked. It was the first word either of them had actually uttered since Cabeswater's...whatever this was. Since they had woken up, and since it had woken too. Since it had, perhaps, woken them. The first word either of them had said since everything seemed to change, and it somehow held less meaning than their previous silence. "Keys," Ronan mumbled, and Adam could hear his hands fumbling on the nightstand in search of them. "Where the hell are my god damn keys?"

Something told Adam to pat his own pockets, and there they were. Right, he thought. He'd driven the BMW last and had forgotten to return them to any of their typical resting places--Ronan's pants, usually, or his nightstand. Maybe Ronan was right; maybe they should each have their own key to it, but the very thought of it felt off to Adam. He had the Hondoyota, after all, and while it may not have been the greatest car, it at least got the job done. But now was not the time for reconsidering the eternal car debate. Adam reached into his pocket, extracted the keys, and tossed them to Ronan, who no sooner caught them in his palms and said, "Let's go."

Adam shoved the leaf into his pocket to show Blue and hopefully Gansey-- _definitely Gansey_ , he thought, _don't think like that_.

The drive from the Barns to Monmouth stretched on for what felt like hours, which couldn't have been right, considering two things. The first was that it typically took somewhere around thirty to forty-five minutes to get to Monmouth from the Barns; the second was that Ronan was going nearly forty miles over the speed limit, faster than he'd ever driven with Adam in the car--though Adam was sure, in his street racing days, that he must have driven faster. Neither Adam nor Ronan spoke the whole way to Monmouth; Adam knew what Ronan was thinking, because it was exactly what he was thinking, too. _Please don't be dead, Gansey. Please, please, don't be dead._

When they were five minutes away from Monmouth, closer to the livelier parts of Henrietta--if Henrietta even had livelier parts, that was--Adam broke their silence.

"It'll be alright," he said, trying to convince Ronan. Trying to convince himself.

Ronan didn't say anything, just slid one of his hands from the steering wheel, reached out for Adam's palm, and squeezed. Adam squeezed back.

This, he thought, was a gesture that meant to the both of them more than any empty words or empty promises ever could.


	2. Regium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cabeswater isn't the only supernatural entity that's back in Henrietta.

Ronan didn't even attempt to park the BMW properly once they'd pulled into Monmouth; he just slid into the lot, jerked the gearshift into park, and rammed his fingers against the button to release his seatbelt. There were only two things he did with caution, Adam noticed: the first was, of course, turning the engine off and removing the keys from the ignition; the second was offering Adam's hand another light squeeze before releasing him.

They met on opposite sides of the car, slamming the doors behind them, one after the other. Adam wasn't sure who'd shut the door first, but it didn't matter; in an instant, the two of them were storming upstairs, racing to the door of Monmouth.

Adam let Ronan pound his fists against the door, let Ronan shout for Gansey and Blue; he knew that, for Ronan, this was the sort of release he craved. Something on the edge. He also knew that Ronan wouldn't try to keep quiet out of fear of waking anyone else, or even waking Blue. Sometimes Ronan's recklessness really paid off.

The door swung open, revealing a groggy, dissheveled, only-in-boxers Gansey, but a living Gansey nonetheless.

Adam and Ronan breathed out simultaneous sighs of relief, though Adam's came out "oh thank god, Gansey" and Ronan's came out "jesus fuck, Gansey."

Gansey just stared at them. "Any reason the two of you felt the urge to drive down here at"--he checked the time on his watch, blinking twice, probably to ensure that the numbers were correct--"4:16 in the morning just to say hi?"

"You fucker," Ronan said, and Adam waited for him to say something else, but he didn't. "Dick, Gansey, you fucker."

From behind Gansey, a light clicked on, and Adam heard Blue's voice ask who it was.

"Our kids," Gansey said to her, stepping aside so that Adam and Ronan could enter the room. "They still haven't told me why they're here so early."

Ronan and Adam shared a glance; Adam knew that Ronan wanted him to explain for them. Explanations were Adam's department, and actions Ronan's. It was how they operated; thoughts for Adam, actions for Ronan. Actions, Adam thought, were quicker, more intense, and ususally carried more meaning than any explanation. Even still, there was no way to show Gansey and Blue, no way to make them feel Cabeswater the way he knew he and Ronan could feel it. Instead, he just dug the leaf out of his pocket and showed it to them.

"Ronan," he said, slowly, "woke up with this."

" _Renovamen_ ," Blue read aloud. "That's regeneration, isn't it?" she asked, turning to Gansey. Adam couldn't help but smile slightly at how proud she looked to have figured it out; he knew she'd taken a Latin course that year in college to better understand the three of them and Cabeswater, everything they'd thought was past but was very clearly being rewritten into the present.

"Regeneration or rebirth," Gansey said, taking the leaf from Adam's hand. He turned it over in his palm, tracing each of the lines on its surface, as if this would make it seem more real. "Is it in the same place as before? Cabeswater, I mean--is it back?"

Adam shook his head. "No. I mean, actually, we didn't check."

Now, Gansey turned to Ronan. "Didn't check? I thought surely you'd have driven there first before waking us--"

"We thought you were _dead_ , dipshit," he said. "Think of it this way--you're here because Cabeswater died and brought you back to life. But if Cabeswater was reborn or whatever, we didn't know what that meant for you." Adam thought, with a sort of mixed relief, that this was the Ronan he knew. The vulgar, point-blank Ronan, not the strong and silent determined Ronan. This was the Ronan that put him at ease in a way that the other did not.

"Oh," Gansey said in the voice that typically made Adam feel larger. It was the sort of voice he used after being provided the simplest answer to some sort of puzzle or brain trick that had previously stumped him. The sort of response to the most obvious answer to a question designed to make you think more than you had to.

"Yes, oh," Ronan continued, pointing a finger in Blue's direction, "and _you_ didn't pick up when Parrish tried to call you. You could have saved us a lot of freaking out."

Blue just arched her brows at him. "Ronan Lynch, you of all people are in no room to criticize someone for not answering a phone, ever. Especially during sleeping hours."

"Whatever," Ronan said. "I'm just glad he's--fine. But that still doesn't--" Ronan broke off suddenly, then tilted his neck back to stare up at the ceiling.

At first Adam didn't hear anything; just Monmouth's ordinary noises, an AC unit and the hum of the mini-fridge. Then, as if from a distance, he heard it. A voice. A familiar voice.

Noah's voice.

" _Renovamen_ ," it said, from somewhere none of them could see. " _Renovamen et regium_."

Regeneration and royalty.


End file.
